Student police on-island training first since 2015

The force has trained student police officers on-island for the first time in more than a decade.

The States of Jersey Police said the 20-week programme in Jersey was "a big achievement" as it covered more localised training suited to the island. The force said the change also saved £150,000 a year.

Ten new police constables passed out on Friday - previously, student officers had to do 10 weeks of training in Norfolk before completing a three-week course in Jersey on local law and procedures.

Force development manager Paul Smith said student officers did not miss anything by not going to the UK anymore.

"Being local - we can really focus on the things that matter to islanders and we can really tailor it," he said.

"Now it's from start to finish, it's all Jersey-based legislation and it's all around the challenges that a Jersey police officer faces."

Smith said on-island training enabled people "who maybe couldn't go away and leave the island to actually stay on island and train with us".

He said: "That training covers a huge raft of different subjects, examinations, public and personal safety, domestic violence."

Chief Officer Robin Smith said its new officers were "from the island, they live in the island, looking after islanders".

He said: "What we used to do is send 10 officers to a fairly isolated place in Norfolk for them to be trained by Norfolk staff to then come back and receive some Jersey training, so there was never any sense to it.

"It's taken us a while to sort of spin that up, but there are some significant savings."

In April, the police put out applications for new student officers to join.

The chief said it had already received "upwards of a hundred applications".

"We'll distil that down from 100 to about 80, then 50, then we'll have our assessment centre to get the right people with the right values, the right standards, to select the next 10 officers."

PC Jade Watkins was among those who passed out on Friday and said the six months of training had been "worth it" and the students had supported each other.

"I think you always need people by your side - we're on our own journeys but we couldn't do it by ourselves," she said.

Watkins added doing the course on-island was helpful: "You've got your life set up here friends and family and so it is much better not having to travel on the weekends from the UK."

PC Lewis Wynne, who also passed out, said the beginning of training was "very daunting" but it went quickly.

He said: "It's been hard times - it is a hard course and it is a struggle at times but you know you're pushing yourself to do stuff you've never done before.

"Jersey's got a great community and people are always lovely over here.

"Just getting out there and really trying to help people, that's the main thing."

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